After Moves, C.J. Thorpe Poised to Contribute

In his first season of game action, C.J. Thorpe saw the most reps of his career at right guard in Penn State’s Week Three win against Kent State.

A 63-10 drubbing of the Golden Flashes, Thorpe appeared in 32 plays along the Nittany Lions’ offensive line. The next week, another 63-point blowout at Illinois, Thorpe built on the experience with another nine snaps.

They’d be his last of the season on the offensive line.

Confronted by suddenly depleted depth at defensive tackle, head coach James Franklin and his assistant coaches thought Thorpe fit for a temporary change in position. Thorpe, eager to see the field, was happy to accept the proposal.

“We approached that on the front end that it was a temporary decision. What happens is guys go on defense and they like it. It’s a little different. It’s a little less technique,” said Franklin. “It’s about playing fast and playing aggressive. He was kind of enjoying it.”

His performance at defensive tackle indicated as much.

First seeing action against Ohio State in the defensive trenches, Thorpe notched a tackle. He followed with an assisted stop against Michigan State, produced two tackles against Maryland and capped his year with an assisted sack against Kentucky in the Citrus Bowl.

Thorpe’s enjoyment of the move was necessarily short-lived, though.

As much in need of experienced offensive linemen as defensive tackles, Franklin explained that the move was always understood to be a short-term solution to a pressing problem facing the team.

“We felt like for him and for us, for our long-term future and his long-term future, that was the best place for him,” said Franklin. “He’s done a nice job, missed a year of technique and fundamentals, but he’s got the ability to be really good.”

Thorpe’s potential begins with his physicality.

Listed at 6-foot-3, 330 pounds this spring, Thorpe’s aggressiveness on the defensive line has carried over to the offensive line, a need Franklin has frequently identified for the entirety of the unit.

Maybe more important, according to offensive coordinator Ricky Rahne, Thorpe brought another element to his game this spring as well. A big personality to match his frame, Thorpe has also matured in his approach to the game with an eye on making a significant contribution to the offensive line next season.

“He's been great. The one thing I thought that C.J. has done a really good job this spring, he's been very coachable and he's taking to what Coach Limegrover said. Still, he lost all of those reps, and he did that for the good of the team,” said Rahne. “So that's something that says a lot about his character, but he was able to come back and really had a good spring. Maybe he had one practice where he didn't have the practice he needed, but those other 14 were pretty darn good. I was pretty darn happy with it.”

As a result, Penn State appears poised to have three capable guards ready to see plenty of action during the 2019 season. Counter to the 2018 campaign in which Steven Gonzalez finished with the most offensive reps of any Nittany Lion at 889 for the season, and Connor McGovern’s 860 were a close third, it’s a situation Penn State’s coaching staff is comfortable moving toward.

“He’s going to play for us this year, whether he’s the starter or not,” said Franklin. “I could see him both him and [Mike] Miranda and Gonzalez playing right now inside.

“I don't think it will be like last year where we had a starting five and tried to stay with the starting five. The third guard right now is going to play.”